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Photograph of the Brown County Museum of History, housed in the former Brown County Jail. There is a sign that says "Brown County Museum of History" outside the building. An orange cherry picker and a ladder lead up to a man standing on the roof.

Photograph of the Brown County Museum of History, housed in the former Brown County Jail. There is a sign that says "Brown County Museum of History" outside the building. An orange cherry picker and a ladder lead up to a man standing on the roof.

Photograph of a historic plaque for the Brownwood Harvey House. It says: "Built in 1914 immediately east of Brownwood Sante Fe railroad depot, this was one of a series of restaurants operated along the Santa Fe line by the Fred Harvey Company, products of railroad agent Fred Harvey's idea to provide superior food and lodging for travelers. The Harvey House was popular from its opening day. The restaurant and hotel closed in 1937, but reopened to serve military personnel when Camp Bowie was established in World War II. It closed permanently in 1945 as passenger railroad travel declined in the era of prosperity following the war. Typical of railroad structures built in the southwest during this period by the Atchison, Topeka & Sante Fe Railroad, the structure features elements of Spanish mission revival style with its red tile hipped roof and decorative brackets." There is another plaque above the historic marker, which says: "Santa Fe Railroad Harvey House has been listed in the national register of historic places by the United States Department of the Interior. 1976."

Photograph of a historic plaque at the Brownwood Sante Fe Passenger Depot. It reads: "Railroad construction began in Brown County in 1884, and the first train arrived in Brownwood in 1885. This depot was designed by Jarvis Hunt of Chicago and built in 1909 by the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Company. It accommodated traffic from a major rail junction between California and Texas and led to increased regional development. Passenger train usage peaked during World War II as 15 trains came through here daily. Architectural features include solid red brick construction with stucco finish. Broad round arches, a 7-bay primary facade and a hipped red tile roof." Another plaque above the historic one reads: "Santa Fe Railroad Depot has been listed in the national register of historic places by the United States Department of the Interior, 1976."

Photograph of a historic marker about Brownwood citizen, Brooke Smith. It reads: "One of ten children, Brooke Smith was born in 1853 to Paulina Thilman (Doswell) and John Snelson Smith, Jr. in Hanover County, Virginia. The family moved to Indiana in 1860 and then to Waco, Texas ten years later. There, Brooke became a clerk at Lyons, Cohn & Co. and decided to move west and open his own store in 1876. Partnering with Sol Lyons and Otto Steffens, he opened a general store in Brownwood, then a frontier town. With no banks in the town, Smith and Steffens placed a large safe in their store where they kept their own funds, as well as financial deposits entrusted to them by area ranchers and farmers. The operation eventually became known as Pecan Valley Bank. Brooke Smith continued in the banking business, served as a school trustee and was elected Brownwood mayor in 1886. During his tenure, the city built its first water system and, in 1894, Smith solicited a survey for a dam at the site where Lake Brownwood would eventually be built. He contributed to both Howard Payne and Daniel Baker Colleges, serving as secretary-treasurer of the latter for many years. He also helped secure several rail lines into the town, thus insuring Brownwood's future growth, and was director of the Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railroad for 40 years. Smith and his wife, Juliet Logan (Sparks) (d. 1938), whom he wed in 1880, were charter members at St. John's Episcopal Church. The two, to whom four children were born, are buried in Greenleaf Cemetery and are remembered for their significant contributions in the development of Brownwood. In his honor, the city designated Carnegie Avenue, a major downtown thoroughfare, as the Brooke Smith Memorial Boulevard."

Photograph of a memorial to Texans who served the confederacy in Brown County. "Camp Collier, C.S.A. Located 13 Mi. southwest, this camp was one of a chain of Texas frontier posts a days horseback ride apart from the Red River to the Rio Grande. Occupied by the Texas Frontier Regiment Patrols and Scouting Parties frequently sent out kept Indian actions in check and rounded up draft evaders. Always needed were food, clothing, horses, ammunition. These men shared few of the glories of the war, yet at the cost of the lives of not a few of them, these confederate soldiers managed to bring a measure of protection to a vast frontier area. A Memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy, erected by the State of Texas, 1963."